Join me as I dive into the innovative features of the Cuarko Wireless Apple CarPlay Adapter. Priced at $59.99 from Amazon US 👉🏻 https://amzn.to/438B2nc, and £44.99 from Amazon UK 👉🏻 https://amzn.to/3PcnqBU, this wireless dongle is set to revolutionise your CarPlay experience.
This is a wired CarPlay to wireless adapter for existing CarPlay systems. It is simply plug-and-play and allows your iPhone to stream wirelessly to your wired CarPlay system.
Other than its slick looks and compact slim profile, the Cuarko adapter stands out for its revolutionary use of a unique SoC, crafted from scratch and inspired by industry leaders like CarlinKit. Its closest rival is the CarlinKit 3.0 Mini, which retails for a nearly identical price.
Cuarko’s adapter does not share the same model compatibility with Carlinkit’s products, however, and its OTA firmware updates are also performed independently by their own technicians. So expect a difference in compatibility here. Meaning if the more known brands didn’t work, the Cuarko is another adapter to try out with your own CarPlay system.
Its landing home screen is basic, with little guidance and a very subtle way to toggle between connecting phones. It works, but the whole area could do with something more intuitive to understand from the get-go whilst also being more sexy looking.
Once connected, the adapter will get you into CarPlay in around 8-14 seconds. Total ignition to CarPlay took me around 23-27 seconds in my Golf and its retrofitted Discover Pro MIB2.5 and 9.2″ display. This is around average for a CarPlay adapter, certainly not the fastest, but as long as your car can power up the car system and USB port on remote unlocking of the car, this is less of a concern.
Once in CarPlay, everything is fairly responsive. I say ‘fairly’ because the default video delay is set to 1000ms. Diving into its rather CarlinKit-looking IP config menu (192.168.18.8), you can alter this to 300-500 for a snappier experience.
The adapter’s sound is great, it’s responsive with the mentioned tweaks, and all this can be improved with more customisation options, including its desirable GPS passthrough (set ON by default). Setting Auto Connect will allow the adapter to toggle between connecting devices, and Siri, audio messages, call quality and delay were perfect in my tests.
With an outer shell consisting of glass and aluminium, this adapter not only looks smart, but its materials make it functional too. The glass helps dissipate heat better than plastic, and its aluminium frame helps with this whilst also offering more durability to boot.
With its sale price of £44.99, the Cuarko Wireless Adapter is a new threat to much more established brands like CarlinKit, which can only be a good thing for competition, compatibility, pricing, as well as further development for wireless CarPlay adapters. If you’re looking for such an adapter for your CarPlay system, then you have a new one to add to your shortlist.
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Brief overview
0:28 – Unboxing
0:47 – Features & Design
1:26 – Bootup & Main Menu
2:22 – CarPlay Pairing & Connection Speed
2:43 – Responsiveness
3:11 – Music quality & delay
3:43 – Calling quality & calling delay
4:22 – IP Config menu
9:10 – My Impressions
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